It is imperative to pay attention to accurate processing of each individual part and each cartridge when producing or rather restoring or preparing precision ammunition. Repeat accuracy must be guaranteed when producing and assembling the individual components. Precision cartridges demand high quality materials and the tightest of tolerances. That also applies to the cartridge case. It is a well-known fact that after cartridges are fired the cartridge cases exhibit an increased diameter along their entire length. The length of the cartridge case also changes, more specifically, it gets longer. In addition, it is also well known that cartridge cases become longer after being sized in a die body. The first requirement to fulfill when restoring fired cartridges is to restore the correct cartridge case dimensions.
At the present time several items of equipment are required to produce, restore or prepare cartridge cases as well as for renewed loading or reloading, for example:                Loading press        Die body        Primer puller        Case trimmer.        
As a consequence, it has been necessary to undertake the following process steps to produce or restore/prepare cartridge cases for loading or reloading:                1. Prepare the cartridge case—clean        2. Adjust settings to the die body in a loading press        3. Insert the cartridge case into the case holder        4. Eject the primer        5. Press in the cartridge case (resize the external dimensions in the body of the die)        6. Remove the cartridge case from the body of the die        7. Size the neck of the cartridge case with the aid of an expander die        8. Sort according to length        9. Trim the cartridge case to predefined dimensions        10. Deburr the inside and outside edges of the cartridge case neck        
As is apparent from the above description the numerous different process steps to be completed one after the other to restore or prepare cartridge cases using a large variety of different devices represent a problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,813 describes a cartridge case processing device used in the reloading of cartridge cases. It puts the burden of positioning the top of the cartridge case on the guide member, however, so a guide member with a diameter that is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the top of the cartridge case, or imprecise centering of the cartridge case as it comes up, could give rise to rough processing or damage. Also, the cartridge case is milled as it goes upward into the milling cutter, which could likewise bring about rough processing. The present invention consistently provides a clean, smooth, precise surface because the outer die provides a more secure guide and the milling is done after the case cartridge is stopped and in position, among other things.
A reforming die for cartridge cases is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,661. It limits the lengthwise growth of the case neck during resizing with a stop surface, but this leads to imprecise and unpredictable results with regard to the cartridge case walls.
The results are much more dependent upon initial wall thickness, the physical characteristics of the metal, ambient conditions and other factors.
Other devices, for instance those described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,390, U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,641, U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,915 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,650,825, only carry out some of the steps, or only portions of steps, of the trimming, sizing and decapping process and require further work steps.